Regional leader shot dead in India's capital

Unidentified ussailants gun down Deepak Bharadwaj, one of richest politicians in Delhi, at his farmhouse.

Deepak Bharadwaj who contested the 2009 national elections was also a businessman [Reuters]

Three unknown assailants have shot dead a leader belonging to one of India’s prominent regional parties at his farmhouse in the country's capital, New Delhi. He was 62.

Deepak Bharadwaj unsuccessfully contested the 2009 national elections on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, and was considered one of the richest candidates with declared assets worth more than 6bn rupees ($110.5m).

The attackers entered his farmhouse 'Nitish Kunj' located in Rajokri on the Delhi-Gurgaon border area and had a chat with Bharadwaj, before opening fire from their car at him around 9:15am local time on Tuesday.

"They (family) told me that somebody shot Deepak Bharadwaj in the morning. He has been taken to AIIMS. Deepak Bharadwaj was my close friend but I don't know if he had animosity with anybody," said a family friend of the deceased, Swami Anand Maharaj.

Senior police officers immediately rushed to the spot and he was taken to the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for treatment.

Neeraj Kumar, the Delhi police commissioner, has said that CCTV cameras installed at the farmhouse have captured footage of the car and the attackers, local TV station, NDTV, reported.

Bhardwaj was engaged in the businesses of real estate, hotels and education.

Last year, another business tycoon, Gurdeep Singh Chadha, was also killed at a farm house in Delhi after he entered into a heated argument with his brother and later people from both the sides fired at each other.